LSU Tigers hoops, both men and women, chart their NCAA tournament paths. Discover their current seeds and potential matchups before 2026 kicks off.
One of the best precursors for the NCAA basketball tournaments each year is the ESPN Bracketology predictors. It's a good source for where each team stands in their case to make it to March.
For the past few years, LSU Tigers fans had only really needed to worry about the Women's Basketball bracket. Kim Mulkey has had her teams as a top contender each year, and their qualification has never been in doubt; it's more so just who they are going to end up playing.
Matt McMahon and the Men's team, however, has not had the luxury. For most of his tenure, they have been off the bracket and out of contention. That has finally changed so far this season.
Before 2026 starts and SEC play begins, here is where both Tigers basketball teams stand in their respective Bracketology rankings:
Women's Basketball - No. 2 Seed
Other teams in the group:
No. 7 seed Baylor Bears
No. 10 seed Virginia Cavaliers
No. 15 seed Austin Peay Governors
This would certainly be an interesting group. It would pit Mulkey against her former team, the Bears and Nicki Collen, who took the program over after her.
It would also be ironic for this to be the team that gets Mulkey her highest seed since taking over LSU. It's the first one without a dominant double-double machine like Angel Reese or Aneesah Morrow.
That isn't to say that the Tigers don't have star talent; it's just coming from different sources. Flau'jae Johnson is a senior and is unquestionably the leader of this team.
Mikaylah Williams isn't having a great statistical start to the year, but she hasn't had to. She'll be ready to put up monster numbers when the competition gets better.
MiLaysia Fulwiley has been great off the bench and can carry the offensive load for that second unit.
At the end of the day, LSU is going to be fine. Perhaps they can even jump into the one-seed conversation if they keep dominating against SEC teams.
Men's Basketball - No. 10 Seed
Other teams in the group:
No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils
No. 7 seed St. John's Red Storm
No. 15 seed Vermont Catamounts
This would be a tough draw, but nothing that the Tigers would complain about. This season is just about getting back into the conversation for McMahon.
He has failed to get LSU back to the tournament in his first three seasons. They knew things were going to be tough, but there just hadn't been any improvement. Now, after non-conference play, they sit at 12-1.
The Tigers are going to need to prove that they can do it against tougher teams with their SEC schedule coming up, but they are at least sitting in the tournament field as of now. If they can avoid disaster, they could have their first March appearance since 2022.